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Finland
Docked at Andö
Helsinki and a few boats

We sailed all the way from Hanko to Helsinki. The wind was supposed to be strong on Saturday but right after leaving Hanko it died for two hours. Luna sailing team's Finngulf 46 appeared behind us, raised the genaker and just took off. It flew passed us into the horizon. Modern racing boats are incredibly fast especially in a light wind. If we had had more crew and more experience with Hamburg VII, we could have tested what the speed difference is between a heavy 1960's blue ocean racing boat and 21st century feather light speed machine. With winds that light we would have needed a lot more sails. We would have needed the mizen staysail first and then the spinaker to compensate our much larger wet surface and weight. We would most certainly have been slower than Luna but we could have put up a decent race in style points.

The shores of our archipelago are unique. We didn't see quite anything like it elsewhere. You cannot have yards and docks like we have if the tide is 2 meters, not to mention 5 or 10. It is also nice to see land close when you sail in Finland and not just a line in the horizon. There is a lot to look at.

At this point our docking procedures were still uncertain. Luckily the first time we needed to tie to a buoy from the aft and dock from the bow as is common in the Baltic was in a calm wind and in a relatively spacious Andö harbor. Despite the long keel and no bow thruster it is possible to turn 57 feet of Hamu in 60 feet of space. This helps to compensate the total inability to steer while going backwards or the wind taking hold of her high bow. This requires some practice which we did not yet have. We would have been a lot more nervous has we known that the propeller axle was nearly broken. It broke just a few feet from our home dock. Later we discovered that the axle was an inch or so too long and did not have room to move as intended longitudinally. This broke the connection to the aquadrive joint.

We reached home with surprisingly few problems. The broken axle was the only more serious equipment failure. The next most serious one was the hinge to the washing machine closet. One can sail without either one and the washing machine with the door hiding it is pure luxury. The axel is now fixed and we already found a spare for the hinge.

Hamburg VII exceeded all of our expectations and easily fulfilled our dreams. She is a charmer whose lines and dance step turn heads. We are very luckly to have her in our family. We would be happy to introduce you to her and the sea as well.

From England to Finland 2013

Hamburg VII 2013